The Psychologist's Companion Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Macro-Challenges in Writing Papers: Planning and Formulating Papers
- Part II Micro-Challenges in Writing Papers: Presenting Your Ideas in Writing
- 7 A Word about Content, Language, and Style
- 8 Commonly Misused Words
- 9 American Psychological Association Guidelines for Psychology Papers
- 10 Guidelines for Data Presentation
- Part III Writing and Preparing Articles for Journal Submission
- Part IV Presenting Yourself to Others
- Epilogue
- References
- Index
7 - A Word about Content, Language, and Style
from Part II - Micro-Challenges in Writing Papers: Presenting Your Ideas in Writing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2016
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Macro-Challenges in Writing Papers: Planning and Formulating Papers
- Part II Micro-Challenges in Writing Papers: Presenting Your Ideas in Writing
- 7 A Word about Content, Language, and Style
- 8 Commonly Misused Words
- 9 American Psychological Association Guidelines for Psychology Papers
- 10 Guidelines for Data Presentation
- Part III Writing and Preparing Articles for Journal Submission
- Part IV Presenting Yourself to Others
- Epilogue
- References
- Index
Summary
In the previous chapters, we have described what belongs in a literature review or an experimental paper. You have learned how to do literature research, what the goals of the two different kinds of papers are, and how to report your findings. To write an appealing paper that maximizes your chances of getting your research published, it is important not only that your studies have substance but also that you well explain about that substance. This chapter provides you with some guidelines on how to write a paper that conveys your findings in an attractive, easily readable, and convincing way. We have divided the guidelines into three parts: Part 1 explains how to present your content in a way that is compelling and convincing. Part 2 deals with style issues, and Part 3 deals with language and grammar issues.
CONTENT GUIDELINES
1. State clearly the problem you are addressing, and then organize the article around the problem.
2. Start strong.
3. Make clear up front what the new and valuable contribution of your article is, and make sure you are right.
4. Tell readers why they should be interested.
5. Make sure the article does what it says it will do.
6. Make sure that the literature review is focused, reasonably complete, and balanced.
7. Make clear how your work builds on that of others.
8. Check your data analyses and interpretations.
9. Always explain what your results mean – don't force the reader to decipher them.
10. Make sure that your conclusions follow from your data.
11. Make clear what the limitations of your work are.
12. Be sure to consider alternative interpretations of the data.
13. End strongly and state a clear take-home message.
1. State clearly the problem you are addressing and then organize the article around the problem.
Sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly what problem authors of an article thought they were trying to solve. This phenomenon can occur because an author does not know what problem the article is supposed to solve or because the nature of the problem was not clearly communicated. It is the author's responsibility to make clear early in the article what problem or problems the article tackles.
Once you have stated the problem, organize the article around it. Show why the problem is important, why it should matter to anyone beside you.
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- Information
- The Psychologist's CompanionA Guide to Professional Success for Students, Teachers, and Researchers, pp. 147 - 172Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016